Congress Crowdfunding Soars, Party Claims Collection Of Over Rs 4 Cr in 48 Hrs for 'Donate for Desh
Within 48 hours of the launch of Congress's nationwide crowdfunding campaign, 'Donate for Desh,' the party has successfully amassed close to Rs 4 crore from an impressive count of over 1,13,000 contributors, according to party insiders.
The campaign, strategically timed ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, aims to generate resources for the party by encouraging public participation and raising public funds. As per the claims of the party leaders, by early Thursday the party collected close Rs 4 crore from over 1.3 lakh donors, achieving the dual objectives it set out to accomplish.
Despite the substantial amount raised, party sources revealed that the majority of contributors made modest donations of Rs 138, symbolising the party's 138th anniversary. Even in the larger sums, Rs 1.38 lakh is a common figure.
Some notable contributors in this category include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Ashok Gehlot, CP Joshi, Niranjan Patnaik, Sushil Kumar Shinde, TS Singh Deo, Jairam Ramesh, and Pawan Khera.
As per party insiders, most contributors gave Rs 138. Only 32 people donated 1 lakh 38 thousand Rs, 626 people donated Rs 13,000 and Rs 680, and the rest are smaller denominations.
The campaign website, donateinc.in, experienced significant traffic, with over 1.1 million visitors. However, it also faced challenges, including more than 20,000 bot attacks, over 1,300 of which aimed at data theft.
Party sources outlined the next steps, which involve building a connection with the contributors and sending central observers to states to ensure active participation of state leaders, particularly in soliciting funds from affluent donors to shape a favourable narrative.
A door-to-door campaign is set to commence, targeting at least 10 people per booth in every constituency nationwide. In a groundbreaking move, Congress plans to solicit funds from the general public during public rallies using QR codes, as confirmed by a senior party leader.
Talking about the campaign, Surendra Rajput, senior Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh, said that the crowd funding campaign is an honest effort to take Indian politics back to the hands of the masses. “Through this crowdfunding campaign, we are going to the masses and asking them to support honest politics which is not bound by capitalist forces.” Rajput further added that the fact that states like UP and Maharashtra are amongst the biggest contributors despite being non congress governed states is a proof of what people want.
The party intends to capitalise on the rising popularity of Rahul Gandhi, offering merchandise like autographed T-shirts and caps during the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Data indicates that top donor states in the ongoing drive include Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Karnataka.
Party sources also shared that 81 per cent of donations were made through UPI, while approximately 8 per cent were contributed via credit cards.
